The present invention relates to apparatus for manipulating webs and discrete sheets of paper or the like, particularly for manipulating webs of exposed and developed photographic paper and discrete sections or prints which are obtained in response to severing of such webs. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus for automatically classifying prints or like discrete sheet-like commodities according to quality and/or other characteristics.
It is already known to classify discrete prints which are obtained by severing a web of exposed and developed photographic paper in response to detection of indicia which are applied to the web and are monitored by suitable detector means serving to transmit appropriate signals to certain parts of a classifying apparatus, e.g., an apparatus of the type disclosed in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 1,912,759. This publication discloses an apparatus which segregates unsatisfactory prints from satisfactory prints and is disposed behind a severing device which divides an elongated web of exposed and developed photographic paper into discrete sections or prints. A turntable is provided to segregate satisfactory prints from unsatisfactory prints, i.e., the turntable assumes a first position to direct each satisfactory print into a first path and a second position to divert unsatisfactory prints into a different second path. The turntable is pivotable about an axis which is parallel to the direction of forward movement of successive prints beyond the severing device. The versatility of the just described classifying apparatus is limited because it can properly classify only such prints which advance toward the turntable along a horizontal path.
German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,345,804 discloses another classifying apparatus wherein a blade-like switching member can be moved between three different positions so as to direct oncoming sheets into a selected one of three different paths. A drawback of this apparatus is that it comprises a large number of conveyor belts, rollers and other components which contribute to its complexity, cost and sensitivity. The sheets are transported by pairs of rollers; this presents problems when the sheets are photographic prints which are normally curved so that the leader of an arcuate sheet is likely to strike against one of the rollers instead of entering the nip of such parts. Moreover, the mechanism for transporting the web toward the severing station is designed to advance the web along an arcuate path which further enhances the likelihood of flexing and unsatisfactory transport of and/or damage to or defacing of discrete sheets.